The committee moved two gravel-street paving requests toward the 2027 budget, using a survey method that counted nonresponses as support. It also flagged unfinished lead-service pavement repairs, sidewalk-project errors and possible new school-crossing signals.
Staff reported enough survey support to advance paving requests for the dead-end gravel portions of 15th and 16th streets west of Buchholz. One of eight 15th Street owners objected, while two of 11 16th Street owners objected; the city counted unanswered surveys as affirmative responses, producing seven yes responses for 15th and nine for 16th. The projects are estimated to add more than $140,000 in capital borrowing, with adjacent owners assessed for all costs, and staff recommends putting them into the 2027 budget process. That survey rule is consequential: treating silence as support can move a costly assessment project forward without an actual response from every affected owner.
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Notices ordering sidewalk repairs went out later than expected, and owners have until August 14 to choose whether to do the work themselves or use the city contractor. Staff said contractor information included some wrong properties and some repair locations were not marked in the field, requiring city staff to verify complaints and locations. Public Works also lacks capacity to do the work because lead-service replacement pavement repairs have created a backlog, leaving the city dependent on a repair contract that is still being prepared.
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Essential Sewer has finished its underground work, but about 40 pavement repairs remain before lawn restoration can be completed. City staff is doing those repairs and is checking with the state Department of Natural Resources on whether some work can be transferred back to Essential through a contract change. The unfinished repairs show how utility replacement work can continue disrupting streets after the underground portion is done.
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Mammoth has completed about 40 service replacements near 23rd and 26th streets. Public Works plans to move into that area for pavement repairs after it finishes the remaining repairs from the 2025 lead-service project. Residents should expect the repair sequence to depend on clearing the older backlog first.
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Staff proposed including solar-powered pedestrian flashing beacons at eight school-area intersections in the 2027 capital budget, at a preliminary cost of about $7,500 per location. Existing flashing lights near Magee and Koenig elementary schools and L.B. Clarke Middle School have been out of service for years, and staff said the older single-bulb equipment may not meet current traffic-control standards. Police and engineering will review student walking routes and crossing-guard locations before settling on the final locations, so this was not yet a commitment to install all eight.
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On Adams Street, the city found most drivers were near the 25 mph limit, though six vehicles exceeded 40 mph during the study. On Forest Avenue near 26th Street, where residents have said crossing feels unsafe, the average speed was 27 mph in a 25 mph zone, but one vehicle was recorded at 72 mph and 22 exceeded 40 mph. A Hawthorne Avenue study is still underway after a resident reported speeding and a pedestrian strike; staff also needs to determine whether state approval is required for any speed-limit change because Hawthorne is a state connecting highway.
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Staff recommended creating a formal agreement for outside entities seeking access to the city sanitary sewer system for investigative work. The proposed agreement would require insurance, indemnification, responsibility for damage, and sharing investigation results with the city. Requests already include Wisconsin Public Service work to locate private sewer laterals and another investigation near a former factory complex, making the lack of a standard process more than a theoretical gap.
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Staff recommended a no-cost permit for temporary street or right-of-way obstructions tied to sewer investigations and similar work. The city currently has no formal way to permit, track or set conditions for these disruptions. A permit would give the city a basic record of who is working in public space and what safeguards apply.
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